Wednesday, November 30, 2005

If things went as they should, I would have my Christmas card already designed and drawn, alas such is not the case. Instead, I have designed this year's wrapping paper. This is something I started a couple of years ago when I didn't have much cash. It was cheaper for me to draw something up on 11x17 paper and make a bunch of photocopies of it, than it was to purchase wrapping paper. Now I just do it for fun. I'm pretty happy with how this year's turned out; now if I only knew what my Christmas card will be...

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

Hmmm... what the heck is this? It's a rather lame attempt at one of those assignments my friend and I give to each other. This one was Rocketboy. I have no idea where that rat came from or why I've allowed him to have a match around a small child. At least I was smart enough not to light it for him...

Thursday, November 17, 2005

Took me a few days to get around to posting this. I was hoping to post photos as well, but I just haven't had the time to upload them from my camera.

It was another gorgeous day in the Bay area, these Sketchcrawls have managed to have some great weather. I had never been to Alcatraz before and I think I should have gone earlier so that I could focus on drawing this time out. I was caught up in the overwhelming amount of information and massive amounts of things to draw thus, not much drawing was done. Not many people use the word "thus" any more. If I had more pull, I might try to bring it back. Um any ways, as I was saying, hopefully I will be a little more prolific next time...

I liked the shape in this, but I wish I had "pulled the camera back" to see more of the building.

I would have liked to do caricature portraits of all of the famous inmates, but I think people were getting tired of me standing in the way while I drew this. The wonders of digital technology allowed me to take the drawing outside, and slap some washes on it using the pic I took with my digital camera as reference. My teachers in school always told me to draw from life, I wonder what they would say knowing that this is done from a picture of a picture?

Monday, November 07, 2005

Saw David Lynch give a talk last night on his films, consciousness, creativity and the brain. Above are my notes from the talk. He was a fascinating speaker and had some really interesting insights into the act of creativity and how to help realise your maximum creative potential through meditation. Really interesting stuff.

From a filmmaking perspective, I think the best piece of knowledge I took from his talk is that "The idea dictates everything that follows." Seems obvious I realise, but I think it is something that should always be in the forefront of your mind, not just when making a film, but I think it can be applied to any artistic endeavour. The initial idea, what you are trying to say, will dictate everything that follows; it will inform every decision you make about what elements you will use to communicate that idea.

It filled my head with far too many ideas, and my head raced most of the night. It took me forever to quiet my brain so that I could sleep... where I had many insane dreams where humans would turn into cartoon versions of themselves and then return to relative normalcy. They only spoke in numbers. I guess Lynch messes with your head be it in person or with his films. If you have the chance to see him, I would do it. The evening was free and we got a dvd from another lecture he gave. I think you can watch it online at www.davidlynchfoundation.org

Thursday, November 03, 2005

Sigh, one of my favorite comics from back in the day. Yes, the stories were zany, but it was Hewlett's art that I was truly drawn too. The obsession continues today, and he remains a major influence on my drawing. That said, this was an exercise in drawing one of his characters without evoking his style, yet still trying to capture the spirit of the character. I have drawn her in the past and they always came out as an imitation of his style, instead of a drawing that was truly mine. I think this is closer to a more personal approach.

Just for fun I scanned this at various stages so you can see the pencils, inks, and final colour.

I've been goofing around with roughing stuff out in yellow pencil, it's kind of hard to see while I'm refining the drawing, but when you drop it into photoshop and change the mode to grayscale, the yellow drops right out leaving a clean, inked drawing. It disappears completely, unlike the supposed non-photo blue I have used occasionally in the past.

Here's the ink. I'm starting to feel more comfortable inking with a brush, but I am still not convinced that this is the final direction I want to go. There are elements of pencil and pen that I really like that I cannot capture with a brush, perhaps once I gain more control. That said, I love the loose quality of line you can get with a brush, it really helps maintain the life and spontaneity of a drawing. I think most of my inking with a pen has killed the drawings to some extent. Perhaps they aren't completely dead, but in the very least they ended up brain starved zombies, craving my cerebral cortex as a mid-afternoon snack.